But does the concentration of sugar in the water affect the reaction? Like, would a more dilute formula slow the reaction, producing less CO2 but prolonging it?

Don't take me to the bank on this, but...I think having more water would slow the process making it last longer. Not because of anything to do with the sugar or the yeast, but because what ultimately happens is that this process starts fermenting and creating alcohol. It is this rise in the amount of alcohol that kills off the yeast and stops your reaction. Therefore, I think more water might, maybe, slow this "burn out" process as the produced alcohol would take longer to rise to high levels when diluted with more water.

if you are looking to slow down the yeast digesting the sugar a pinch of salt will slow the reaction down, to much will kill the yeast though, never tried it in a fish tank but i know from 15 yrs of cooking/baking the ratio between salt and yeast controls how fast your dough will rise

So I've set up my mixture and everything... I waited 24 hours and wasn't getting any bubbles so I figured I had screwed something up. When I opened the bottle to try a new mixture, there was definitely pressure in it.

I took out my diffuser and just tried to blow through it to see if I could make bubbles, and I couldn't. Does it take a crazy amount of pressure to get through this thing? Should I be able to blow bubbles through my diffuser?

Don't take me to the bank on this, but...I think having more water would slow the process making it last longer. Not because of anything to do with the sugar or the yeast, but because what ultimately happens is that this process starts fermenting and creating alcohol. It is this rise in the amount of alcohol that kills off the yeast and stops your reaction. Therefore, I think more water might, maybe, slow this "burn out" process as the produced alcohol would take longer to rise to high levels when diluted with more water.

I have nothing to back this up. It's a theory.

I have rough data that I have collected since I started playing with DIY CO2, so far it matches your theory:

1 cup of sugar + 1l water + 5ml yeast at 30C/80F ambient temperature = 16days
+ siphoned of most of the top still water, added back plain water = reaction restarted after 1 day and ran for 6days, 23 days total

2 cups of sugar + 1l water + 5ml yeast at 30C/80F ambient temperature = 21 days
+ siphoned of most of the top still water, added back plain water = restarted reaction after 4 hours, continued 10days so total of 31 days and still counting.

I have another experiment running where I have managed to isolate a slightly more alcohol resistant strain. I tasted the solution it produced, it was like soju.

So I've set up my mixture and everything... I waited 24 hours and wasn't getting any bubbles so I figured I had screwed something up. When I opened the bottle to try a new mixture, there was definitely pressure in it.

I took out my diffuser and just tried to blow through it to see if I could make bubbles, and I couldn't. Does it take a crazy amount of pressure to get through this thing? Should I be able to blow bubbles through my diffuser?

I tried a new mixture. I have 2 cups sugar, 1/2 teaspoon yeast... I boiled a little water to dissolve the sugar in, then filled up the bottle the rest of the way with cold water to help cool it... I stirred the yeast up in some warm water and let it breathe for a little bit, then tossed it in the bottle.

12 hours later, I was getting a steady flow through the diffuser once the pressure built up. I wanted to use a lower amount of yeast to make the the mixture last longer, but we'll see how long this goes.

If you have access to a local brew club and/or supply store, check out some of the champagne yeasts. They are specifically bred to tolerate much higher alcohol levels than a standard yeast will. That's what I was using before I switched to a pressurized system

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